Applicant information
What happens after you apply to Bristol?
Engineering Mathematics
| Awards available | PhD |
|---|---|
| Duration of programme | Three and a half years full-time |
| Number of places | 10 |
Page contents
Programme overview
Members of the Department of Engineering Mathematics carry out leading-edge research in areas where mathematics is applied to future challenges in engineering, industry and the life sciences. The Department also makes fundamental theoretical and computational advances. There is a strong tradition of interdisciplinary work, international collaboration and publication in the leading research journals.
The research is supported by grants from public bodies such as the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council and the European Union, as well as industry (eg BAE Systems, Jaguar Cars, QinetiQ, Rolls Royce and British Telecommunications Laboratories).
Research groups
The Department has two main research groups:
The internationally renowned Applied Nonlinear Mathematics Group is firmly rooted in a culture of solving real-world problems. Applications include traffic flow, optical devices, novel materials, aircraft dynamics, rotating machinery, epilepsy biomechanics and electrical networks. The group also undertakes fundamental research in areas such as: local and global bifurcation theory, manifold computation, mathematical biology, nonsmooth systems, delay differential equations, partial differential equations and control theory.
The University has a long tradition of excellence in Artificial Intelligence, with research groups in Engineering dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. Now all these traditions have converged to form the Intelligent Systems Laboratory (ISL), a new research unit counting 16 members of staff (five professors) and about 40 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.
Research activities include foundational work in machine learning (many of the ISL members work in this central area of research), and applications to web intelligence, machine translation, bioinformatics, semantic image analysis and robotics, uncertainty modelling and fuzzy systems, as well as natural intelligent systems.
A list of available projects can be found on the Department website.
Entry requirements
An upper second-class honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant discipline.
For information on international equivalent qualifications, please see our International Office website.
Admissions statement
Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.
Key research interests
Dr David Barton, Mathematical modelling; dynamics of nonlinear systems; numerical methods for dynamic systems; energy harvesting.
Professor Mario di Bernardo, Nonlinear control theory; bifurcations of nonsmooth systems; industrial applications of mathematics.
Dr Tijl de Bie, Pattern analysis; machine learning; artificial intelligence; optimisation theory; bioinformatics.
Dr Colin Campbell, Machine learning; kernel methods; graphical models; bioinformatics; cancer informatics; medical informatics.
Professor Alan Champneys, Nonlinear dynamics; global bifurcation; piecewise smooth systems; nonlinear optics; pattern formation; systems engineering; systems biology.
Professor Nello Cristianini, Pattern analysis; artificial intelligence; web analysis; computational genomics and linguistics.
Dr Michael Gastner, Complex Systems; networks; statistical physics; ecological modelling; economic geography.
Dr Luca Giuggioli, Mathematical ecology; animal territoriality; animal movement and anomalous diffusion; stochastic search; spatial ecology of infectious diseases.
Dr Thilo Gross, Complex networks; complexity science; nonlinear dynamics.
Professor John Hogan, Applied non-linear mathematics; nonsmooth systems; complexity.
Dr Martin Homer, Mathematical modelling of engineering, biomechanical and biological systems; bifurcations and dynamics of nonsmooth systems.
Dr Mike Jeffery, Geometry in physics and nature; singularities and singular limits; bifurcations and nonsmooth dynamics.
Professor Jonathan Lawry, Imprecise probabilities in artificial intelligence; representing vague concepts in intelligent systems; language games; consensus modelling.
Professor Trevor Martin, Fuzzy artificial intelligence; soft computing and semi-structured information; uncertain logic programming; approximate user modelling; smart sensor networks.
Dr Jonathan Rossiter, Uncertainty in object-oriented knowledge representation and programming; humanist computing; medical applications of AI.
Dr Robert Szalai, Mechanics of mammalian hearing; nonlinear dynamics; invariant manifolds in piecewise-smooth systems; delay differential equations; machine tool vibrations.
Dr Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova, Modelling in the biological sciences; oscillations and wave propagation in physiology; numerical and theoretical analysis of dynamical systems.
Professor Eddie Wilson, Mathematical modelling and simulation; complex systems; traffic flow theory and characteristics; intelligent transport systems.
Application deadline: Not fixed
Get in touch
PhD in Engineering Mathematics
Graduate School of Engineering
University of Bristol
Merchant Venturers Building
Woodland Road
Bristol
BS8 1UB
Phone: +44 (0) 117 331 5520
Email: enq-pgremat@bristol.ac.uk
Web: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/engineering/departments/engineering-mathematics
International students
English-language requirements: 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in the speaking and reading bands and a minimum of 6.5 in the writing and listening bands, in addition to the standard entry requirements.
Find information for international students on eligibility, funding options and studying at Bristol.
Fees and funding
2014/15 fees
Full-time: UK/EU £3,939;
overseas £17,000
Fees quoted are provisional, per annum and subject to annual increase.
Funding options
UK/EU students may apply for research council funding. Research contracts may provide funding for a pre-defined project. Contact the Department for a list of currently available projects or check www.jobs.ac.uk. Direct funding from industry and other grants are available for students of any nationality. Please see the Student Funding Office website for further information about funding your studies.
Research Assessment Score
Units of Assessment 21 and 23 apply. See Complete RAE listings for University of Bristol for further details.
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